Refrigerating apparatus



James W. Jacobs 'J His Attorney 8 llwklz 2: 2 M. R o l m 2 4 3 4 w 7 4 8m a I I A i a 3 v. I-

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5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 6, 1959 263 F ig. .7

INVENTOR. James M. Jacobs BY g g 2 His Attorney Fig. 6

J. W. JACOBS REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Aug. 7, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledJuly 6, 1959 0 .s b zmw% Y W m I m A .s w. m V. B

2 L a 2 a .0. H w a L 2 nice ,ti4%,ti24- REFRIGERATKNG APFARATUS JamesW. Jacobs, Dayton, Ghio, assignor to General Motors Corporation,Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Deiaware Fiied July 6, 1959, Eer. No.825,132 6 Claims. (ill. 62-156) This invention relates to refrigeratingapparatus and more particularly to a modern household refrigerator whichharmonizes with other facilities in a modern kitchen and in which thefood storage compartments will not accumulate frost.

Modern kitchens are provided with working surfaces of convenient height,such as thirty-six inches. The conventional household refrigerator withstraight vertical lines from top to bottom provides an undesirable breakin such surfaces in the kitchen. Frostless refrigerators employingcirculating cold air are now being manufactured partially insulated byorganic foam insulation. Such refrigerators may be built into a kitchenin which event it is necessary to provide a convenient means for accessand removal of the refrigerating system for service and repair.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple inexpensiveconvenient refrigerator provided with a convenient working surface whichwill connect with and align with other working surfaces in the kitchenand yet provide satisfactory refrigerated storage.

It is another object of this invention to provide a refrigerator whichmay be permanently built into the kitchen in which the cabinet isseparately formed with foam insulation and the entire refrigeratingsystem is inserted into and removable from the front of the cabinet as aunit and in which refrigeration is supplied to the cabinet from the unitentirely by air circulation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a frostlessrefrigerator in which the air circulation is changed during each offcycle to provide simple rapid defrosting together with continued coolingof the above freezing compartment.

The terms above and below freezing and frost as used in thespecification and claims pertain to water and water vapor and ice.

These and other objects are attained in the forms of the invention shownin the drawings in which a refrig erator cabinet which may be formed ofcast foam insulation is provided with a working surface of the sameheight as the remaining work surfaces in the kitchen. Theportion'immedi-ately beneath the work surface is provided with a drawerhaving an insulated front which may be divided into a cold meat storagecompartment and a high humidity vegetable storage compartment. Beneaththis portion is an insulated wall separating the upper above freezingcompartment from the lower below freezing compartment. The belowfreezing compartment has a hollow shelf communicating at the rear withan upwardly extending air duct.

The entire refrigerating system slides into the cabinet through anopening at the front below the below freezing compartment and includes ablower which draws air downwardly from both compartments during therunning cycle through the evaporator coil and discharges some of the airupwardly through the duct at the back of the below freezing compartmentinto the hollow shelf from which it escapes at the front edge and otherdistributed points into the below freezing compartment. The hollow shelfsupports ice trays for fast ice freezing. A separate upwardly extendingduct connects with the discharge from the blower and extends to theupper above freezing compartment discharging a portion of its airdirectly adjacent the meat receptacle and the remainder in the upperportion. The upper portion above the work surface and the drawerreceptacle is reduced in depth to provide convenient access to theentire surface of the upper shelves therein.

The refrigerating system operates upon a defrosting cycle according tothe temperature of the evaporator. During the oif cycle, air iscirculated only from the above freezing compartment through theevaporator and returned by the blower to the above freezing compartment.This continues the refrigeration of the above freezing compartmentduring the off period and hastens the defrosting of the evaporators.This change in air circulation is accomplished in one form by a damperoperable coincidentaliy to the operation of the thermostatic controlswitch providing the defrost cycle. In a second form, a novel reversingblower operates in one direction to deliver air to both the above andbelow freezingcompartments while the air is below a selected temperaturezone;

when the air temperature is above the selected temperature zone, itoperates in the opposite direction to circulate air only between theabove freezing compartment and the evaporator.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing wherein preferred embodiments of the invention are clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a portion of a modern kitchen provided with continuous worksurfaces including a front view of a refrigerator embodying my inventionwith the doors and the refrigerated drawer and the ornamental front ofthe machinery compartment, the motor-compressor and the condenserremoved;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the removable refrigerating unit for therefrigerator cabinet shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantiallyalong the line 3-13 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along theline #4 of FIGURE 3 showing the bottom of the air duct connections ofthe cabinet with the refrigerating unit;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of a slightly modified refrigerator embodyingmy invention;

FIGURE 6 is a side vertical sectional view corresponding to therefrigerators shown in FIGURES 1 and 5 with the refrigerating unitcorresponding to FIGURE 3 being omitted;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view partly diagrammatic of the reversibleblower for the modification shown in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of a modified refrigerating unit provided forthe cabinet shown in FIGURE 5 and containing the reversible blower shownin FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIGURE 4 modified toapply to the refrigerating unit as shown in FIGURE 8 and the cabinetshown in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 10 is a wiring diagram for the refrigerating unit shown in FIGURE8;

FIGURE 11 is a modified wiring diagram for the refrigerating unit shownin FIGURE 8 incorporating a time delay arrangement for delaying thereversal of the blower following the operation of the thermostaticswitch responsive to evaporator temperature controlling the sealed motorcompressor unit; and

FIGURE 12 is a wiring diagram for the refrigerating unit shown in FIGURE2 incorporating an electrically operated damper to change the aircirculation between the on and off cycles.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 1, there is shown a wallportion of a modern kitchen including a first storage cabinet 20 havinga work table 22 at a convenient height, such as thirty-six inches, and atoe recess 24 beneath. The cabinet may contain lower cupboard 26 and adrawer 28 above the cupboard 26 beneath the work surface 22. Therefrigerator cabinet 30 is located between the cabinet Ztl and a thirdcabinet 32 which includes a lower storage space 34 beneath which is atoe recess 36 similar to the recess 24- and above which is a drawer 38.Between the drawer 38 and the upper cabinet 4a is a work surface 42. Thetoe recesses, the lower cabinets, the drawers and the work surfaces aresimilar and the upper cabinet 42 harmonizes with the remainder.

The refrigerator cabinet 30 may be made of any suitable materials butpreferably is made of some form of cast foam insulation and has an upperabove freezing food storage cabinet 44 of the same height andharmonizing with the upper cabinet 40. The upper portion of the cabinet30 is of the same depth as the upper cabinet 40, and a work surface 46separates the upper portion of the cabinet 30 from the lower portion ina manner similar to and aligning with and connecting to the work surface42 of the cabinet 32 and the work surface 22 of the rear wall and hasone or more openings from the above freezing compartment 60, such as anupper outlet opening 92 in the upper left-hand corner of the rear walland a lower outlet opening 94 behind the high humidity moisturevegetable storage section. At the lower left-hand corner of the freezingcompartment 62, there is provided a third outlet opening 96communicating with a separate return air duct 121. The upper compartment69 is provided with suitable full and half shelves 9%.

These supply and return ducts are arranged at the bottom as shown inFIGURE 4. The duct 90 connects directly with the outwardly formedportion 123 of a metal container 125 containing a vertical fin and tubeevaporator 127 dividing the container 125. The portion of the container125 to the rear of the evaporator 127 provides a space 12% whichcommunicates with the return air duct 121 from the freezing compartment62 and through the cabinet 20. Beneath the work surface 46' is a draweropening 45 having an insulated drawer front d9 harmonizing with thedrawer fronts 28 and 38 to which is connected a drawer 5i) divided by apartition 52 into a meat tender compartment 54 and a high humidityvegethe offset portion 123 with the return air duct 9%. The evaporator127 is spaced away from the opposite side of the container 125 toprovide a space 131 communicating with the outlet aperture 133connecting with the centrifugal impeller 135 within the fan scroll 137.The

impeller 135 is connected to the adjacent end of the table storagecompartment or hydrator 56. A horizontal insulated wall 58 separates theupper above freezing compartment 6% from the lower below freezingcompartment a 62. The upper portion of the above freezing compartment 6%is closed by a single or double insulated doors 64 while the freezingcompartment is closed by an insulated door 66.

Cold air is supplied to both compartments during the on cycle throughthe upwardly extending ducts 68 and '79 as shown in FIGURES 1 to 5.These ducts may be cast into the rear wall 72 of the cabinet, ifdesired. The duct 68 communicates with the rear of the hollow shelf 74which may be made of metal provided with internal fins for supportingand rapidly removing heat from an ice tray 76 to freeze ice cubes andother edibles. The hollow shelf 74 has front discharge openings 78 aswell as additional openings 80 in the bottom wall to provide a uniformdistribution of air within the below freezing compartment 62. The air iscirculated through the below freezing compartment 62 substantially onlymotor shaft 139 of an electric motor 141 provided with a centrifugal orpropeller fan 143 upon the opposite end of its shaft which draws in airthrough the condenser 14-5 and discharges over the motor-compressor unit161 for discharge forwardly through the right front of the machinerycompartment 157.

The impeller 135 discharges the air drawn through the evaporator 127into a duct 147 having discharge portions 14-9 beneath the air duct 68with an offset portion 151 extending beneath the air duct 7%. Thecontainer 125 as well as the air ducts 147, 149 and the extensions 123and 151 are enclosed in suitable insulation, such as cast foaminsulation 153. .This is mounted upon a suitable base 155 which isslidable into and out of the during the running cycle at temperaturesfar below 4 freezing, such as 0 F. While it provides adequaterefrigeration at 0 E, and the circulation of cold dry air prevents theformation and accumulation of frost within the below freezingcompartment 62.

The second upwardly extending air duct 7ft has a first discharge opening82 directly behind the bottom of the meat tender compartment 54 so thatthis compartment is always kept at a desirable temperature forpreserving meat. The air flow to the above freezing compartment 6 0 iscontrolled by a damper 84 rotatable upon a horizontal axis within theduct 70 opposite the dividing wall 58. This damper 84 is operated by athermostatic motor 86 located in and responsive to the temperature ofthe above freezing compartment to regulate the amount of air flowing tothe above freezing compartment 60 to maintain the proper temperaturetherein. If desired, all the air may discharge from the opening 82 inwhich event the duct 70 may terminate at this point. However, to providemore uniform cooling, the duct 70 preferably extends to the top of thecabinet and is provided with a second or upper discharge opening 88 inthe upper righthand corner of the rear wall 72. The openings 82 and 88may be made of such size as to provide proper distribution of the coldair within the above freezing compartment.

Upon the opposite side of the rear wall 72 is provided the return duct90 which may likewise be cast into cabinet 39 from the front. For thispurpose, the machinery compartment 157 is located beneath the insulatedbottom wall 159 of the below freezing compartment and has a frontopening through which the entire refrigerating system mounted upon thebase may be inserted and removed. The cabinet 3t) may be provided withslideways for slidably supporting the base 155. The machinerycompartment 157 has an ornamental front containing a toe recess 15%harmonizing with the toe recesses 24 and 36.

The base 15$ is provided with resilient mountings for resilientlysupporting the sealed motor-compressor unit 161 which withdrawsevaporated refrigerant from the evaporator 127 through the suctionconduit 163 and discharges the compressed refrigerant through thedischarge conduit 165 into the superheat remover coil 167 beneath ashallow pan 168 which receives defrost water through tubing 169 from thebottom of the container 125 and conducts the defrost water to the pan ontop of the superheat coil 167. The cold Water cools the coil 167 whilethe heat of the coil 167 evaporates the water into the air circulatedthrough the condenser 145 and through the remainder of the machinerycompartment 157 in front of the insulation 153. The cooling air entersand leaves the machinery compartment 157 at the front so that noarrangement for air circulation need be provided at the sides and therear. The refrigerant, after being cooled in the super-heat coil 167, isreturned by the conduit 170 to another portion of the sealedmotor-compressor unit 161 where it will deposit a portion of thelubricant entrained therein. This refrigerant partially cooled andpartially freed from entrained lubricant will be conducted through theconduit 171 to the condenser 145 where the refrigerant will condense andbe conducted by the conduit 172 to a filter drier unit 173 from whichthe liquid refrigerant will flow through the capillary restrictor tube175 to the evaporator 127.

As shown in FIGURE 12, the sealed motor-compressor unit 161 is connectedin series with the thermostatic switch '177 across the supply conductorsL and L The fan motor 141 is connected directly across the supplyconductors L and L and is not subject'to the control of the switch 177.The switch 177 is preferably an adjustable snap action switch set tooperate upon a defrosting cycle. Its operating bellows 179 is connectedby a capillary tube 181 to a thermostat bulb 183 mounted upon theevaporator 127.

Connected in parallel with the sealed motor-compressor unit 161 is asolenoid actuator 185. This actuator is operably connected to therotatable damper 187 provided at the top of the duct 147 directlybeneath the ducts 68 and 70. This horizontally pivoted damper 187, whenthe solenoid 185 is deenergized is propelled by a spring 189 to closethe bottom of theduct 68 to prevent the circulation of air through thebelow freezing compartment 62 during idle periods of themotor-compressor unit 161. When the solenoid 185 is deenergized, itpermits the free flow of cold air from the duct 147 through the duct 70to the above freezing compartment 60. When the solenoid 185 isenergized, the damper 187 is pivoted to a position against a stop screw191 so as to allow a limited flow of colder air through the duct 70 forcooling the above freezing compartment 60 while the major proportion ofair will flow through the below freezing compartment 62.

- During this time of flow through the below freezing compartment, themotor-compressor unit will be operating to keep the air at temperaturesfar below freezing, such as F. During the off periods when the switch177 is open, the temperature of the evaporator 127 will rise and finallypass above the freezing point to melt all the frost therefrom. Thismelting will be assisted by the circulation of the air from the abovefreezing compartment 60 which will be at above freezing temperatures.The circulating air during this off period will be considerably warmerthan during the operating period so that a greater volume can becirculated through the above freezing compartment without cooling it tofreezing temperatures. When the evaporator 127 rises sufficiently abovefreezing temperatures to insure complete defrosting, the switch 177 willclose and start a new refrigeration cycle. A bimetal switch 186 locatedin the space 131 is connected in series with the solenoid 185 and is setto open at temperatures above 15 F. to prevent warm air from being sentto the below freezing compartment before the evaporator is sufficientlycool. i

In the form shown in FIGURE 5, the refrigerator cabinet and the returnair ducts are similar to that shown in FIGURESl to 4, and thedescription thereof will not be repeated. The exterior of the cabinet isalso similar as well as the drawer arrangement for the meat tendercompartment and the high humidity vegetable storage compartment in thedrawer 50. However, this form differs in that a novel reversible blower220 is substituted for the impeller 135 and the scroll 137. Thisreversible blower 220 includes a novel impeller 222 (FIGURE 7) havingradial blades 224 inclined at an angle of about 45 and terminating in asolid rim 226 having its inner surface 228 curving to the left andhaving apertures 230 therein extending diagonally upward at the right.The impeller 222 is housed in a novel housing 232 having an air entrance234 communicating with the discharge side of the evaporator 127 fordrawing air through the evaporator 127 from the return air ducts. Theoperation of the motor-compressor unit 161 is controlled by anadjustable thermostatic switch 244 having its thermosensitive bulb 259mounted on the rear face of the evaporator 127 to operate the bellows261. It is set to close at 36 F. and to open at 0 F., for example, toinsure defrosting of the evaporator every cycle.

When the fan shaft 236 rotates with the nearest portion of the rim 226moving upwardly, the cold air drawn in the inlet 234 will be dischargedthrough the outlet duct shelf 74. A smaller duct 242 connecting with theupwardly extending duct 265 and the outlets 267, 269 provides a smallamount of cold air for the above freezing compartment 60 during thisoperation of the reversible blower 22%}. Preferably, a thermostaticallycontrolled damper similar to the damper 84 controlled by a thermostaticoperator 86 controls the supply of air to the above freezing compartment60 to maintain desirable refrigerating temperatures. The operation ofthe reversible blower 220 is controlled by a thermostatically operablereversing switch 246 shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 10. This reversingswitch 246 preferably has a low differential and is located on theoutlet side of the evaporator 127 adjacent the inlet 234 of thereversible blower 220. The reversing switch 246 is set so that when itstemperature falls below plus 10 F. it will move to its lower positionconnecting the conductor 249 with the capacitor 251 conneoted to a pointbetween the two windings 253 and 255 of the reversible fan motor 257.The winding 253 connects to the supply conductor L While the winding 255connects to the supply conductor L When the thermostat bulb 259 mountedupon the evaporator 127 reaches a predetermined low temperature, it willcontract the bellows 261 to open the switch 244. The consequent rise intemperature of the air coming out of the evaporator 12? above 15 F. willactuate the reversing switch 246 to connect the capacitor 251 to thesupply conductor L to reverse the fan motor 257.

This will reverse the operation of the shaft 236 and the impeller 222causing the blower to cease discharging air through the discharge duct238 and to begin to discharge air through its second alternate dischargeduct 263 which only delivers air through the duct 265 to the abovefreezing compartment 60 through the lower opening 267 and the upperopening 269. Operation of the blower 220 in the reverse direction willcontinue with the motor-compressor unit idle until the evaporator 127defrosts and the switch 244 returns to the normal running position andreduces the temperature of the air out of the evaporator and the switch246 below 10 F. In FIGURE 10, the starting relay 271 is shown forproviding split phase starting of the motor-compressor unit 161. The fanmotor 257 may connect at the opposite end to either a centrifugal orpropeller condenser fan 273. If a centrifugal fan is provided, the aircirculation through the condenser will be in the same direction for boththe on and off cycles; While if a propeller fan is provided, the aircirculation through the condenser 145 will be reversed. Thethermostatically controlled reversing of the blower 220 assures that airwill be delivered to the below freezing compartment 62 only when itstemperature is sufficiently low, for example, below 10 or 15 F.

In FIGURE 11, the control of the fan motor 257 is responsive to theoperation of the switch 244 but a time delay arrangement is provided sothat the fan motor 257 will not reverse until the predetermined timeafter the motor-compressor unit 161 has resumed operation. This willallow the evaporator 127 to be cooled down below freezing temperaturebefore any air is delivered to the below freezing compartment 62. Forthis purpose, the reversing switch 247 is not operated by thethermostatic switch 244 directly but a high reactance solenoid 275 isconnected in shunt with the switch 244 so that when the switch 244closes the solenoid 275 will be deenergized. A time delay device 277 isconnected to the armature to delay the movement of the reversing switch246 to its lower position. This provides sufficient time for theevaporator to cool before the fan motor 257 and the blower 220 arereversed. The opening of the switch 244 reenergizes the solenoid 275 tooperate the reversing switch to its upper position.

While the embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutepreferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might beadopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A refrigerator including a cabinet provided with insulated wallsenclosing a below freezing compartment and an above freezingcompartment, a refrigerating system including a liquefying means and anevaporating means, control means for controlling said refrigeratingsystem to cause said evaporating means to alternately maintain below andabove freezing temperatures, said cabinet having supply and return ductsextending from said evaporating means to said compartments, a reversibleblower means operably connected to said ducts to circulate air throughsaid evaporating means and both said compartments in a first directionof operation and to circulate air through said evaporating means andonly said above freezing compartment in a second direction of rotation,and means for operating said blower means in said first direction duringthe time said evaporating means is maintained at below freezingtemperatures and for operating said blower means in said seconddirection during the time said evaporating means is maintained at abovefreezing temperatures.

2. A refrigerator including a cabinet provided with insulated wallsenclosing a below freezing compartment and an above freezingcompartment, a refrigerating system including a liquefying means and anevaporating means, said liquefying means including electrical operatingmeans, a thermostatic switch means set to operate upon a defrostingcycle responsive to the temperature of the evaporating means connectedin electrical series circuit relation with said electrical operatingmeans, an electrically operable reversible blower having means forcirculating air from both compartments in heat transfer relation withsaid evaporating means and back into both compartments in one directionof rotation and for circulating air only from'said above freezingcompartment in heat transfer relation with said evaporating means andback to said above freezing compartment in the opposite direction ofrotation, and a reversing switch connected to said blower and operatedby said thermostatic switch means for reversing said blower inaccordance with the opening and closing of said thermostatic switchmeans.

3. A refrigerator including a cabinet provided with insulated wallsenclosing a below freezing compartment and an above freezingcompartment, a refrigerating system including a liquefying means and anevaporating means, said liquefying means including electrical operatingmeans, a thermostatic switch means set to operate upon a defrostingcycle responsive to the temperature of the evaporating means connectedin electrical series circuit relation with said electrical operatingmeans, an electrical operable reversible blower having means forcirculating air from both compartments in heat transfer relation withsaid evaporating means and back into both compartments in one directionof rotation and for circulating air only from said above freezingcompartment in heat transfer relation with said evaporating means andback to said above freezing compartment in the opposite direction ofrotation, and a reversing switch connected to said blower and operatedby said thermostatic switch means for reversing said blower inaccordance with the opening and closing of said thermostatic switchmeans, and a time delay device associated with said reversing switch fordelaying the operation of said reversing switch following the operationof said thermostatic switch means.

4. A refrigerator including a cabinet provided with insulated wallsenclosing a below freezing compartment and an above freezingcompartment, a refrigerating system including a liquefying means and anevaporating means, said liquefying means including electrical operatingmeans, a thermostatic switch means set to operate upon a defrostingcycle responsive to the temperature of the evaporating means connectedin electrical series circuit relation with said electrical operatingmeans, a blower for circulating air from said compartments into heattrans fer relation with said evaporating means and return, a dam-permeans having one position for shutting off the circulation of air tosaid below freezing compartment and having a second open position,electrical operating means for said damper means controlled by saidthermostatic switch means for operating said damper means to said oneposition during the open period of said switch means and to said secondopen position during the closed period of said switch means, and meansfor preventing the operation of said damper means to said second openposition as long as said evaporating means is above a predeterminedtemperature.

5. A refrigerator including a cabinet provided with insulated wallsenclosing a below freezing compartment and an above freezingcompartment, a refrigerating system including a liquefying means and anevaporating means, control means for cyclically starting and stoppingsaid refrigerating system to cause said evaporating means to alternatelyattain below freezing and above freezing temperatures, means effectiveduring the operation following every starting of said refrigeratingsystem for circulating air in heat transfer relation with saidevaporating means and both said below and above freezing compartmentsand effective during the idle period following every stopping of saidrefrigerating system for circulating air in heat transfer relation withsaid evaporating means and only said above freezing compartment, andmeans for preventing the circulating of air in heat transfer relationwith said evaporating means and both said below and above freezingcompartments as long as said evaporating means is above a predeterminedtemperature.

6. A refrigerator including a cabinet provided with insulated wallsenclosing a compartment to be cooled, a refrigerating system includingliquefying means and evaporating means, means for circulating air inheat transfer relation with said evaporating means and said compartmentto be cooled, means for stopping said refrigerating system and causingsaid evaporating means to rise above freezing temperatures, and meansfor preventing the circulation of air between said evaporating means andsaid compartment as long as said evaporating means is above apredetermined temperature.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

